Sentience

*******

The term "sentient being" is often a translation of a Sanskrit term in Buddhism. What the Buddha had in mind was not any being who had any senses, which would include insects, and possibly amebas and paramecia. What he had in mind by using the term "sentient being" was a being who was selfaware, a being who could say, "I am" with meaning. In terms of biocomplexity, this "sentience" does not include insects, bacteria, viruses, amphibians, or reptiles. But neither is it limited to the highest forms of mammalian life (whales, elephants, dolphins, chimps and other higher primates.) Due to the complexity of brain-structure, no mammal can be considered non-sentient. That is why dogs are more sacred than fleas, and cats than ticks. It is also why cows and pigs are more sacred than chickens, and human beings more sacred than most other species.
*******